Many Descendants in Different Branches are Residents of this
Part of New York State

Newspaper article, dated, but without mentioning the newspaper
it was published in. Transcribed by Arlene Goodwin.

The Cobleskill Index of last week had an interesting article
entitled "Pen Pictures of Part of the Winans Genealogical Tree,"
written by Zilpha Couchman Richtmyer, of Conesville, which we believe will be of
interest to many of our readers, so give it herewith in full:

The first Winans in America was a lawyer from Flanders, now
Belgium, who settled in Maryland in 1640; from whom descended the beloved
ancestress, Huldah Winans, wife of Jacob Chapman. His son, John Winans, was
prominent among the "80 Associates" who founded and settled Elizabeth,
N. J., in 1664; was well educated, had books when they were rare, had gold and
silver plate and coat of arms. He married a daughter of Cornelius Melyn, Patroon
of Staten Island, and resided there 20 years, then removed to New Haven, Conn.

Two of his grandsons, James and William, went to Dutchess
county, N. Y., and are ancestors of the New York state Winans. William was
grandfather of Mrs. Chapman. A son of John, named Isaac, was grandfather of Ross
Winans, of Baltimore, who invented the camel-back locomotive and the
eight-wheeled car, and established the Baltimore the largest machine ships in
the United States. His sons, Thomas and William, were his partners in business.
The three invented a system of steam navigation known as the cigar-ship.

Thomas was a civil engineer, and French engineers having
declined as impossible the task of building a railroad in a straight line from
St. Petersburg to Moscow, he with two other Americans, Eastwick and Harrison,
undertook and executed the difficult contract, from which they realized enormous
fortunes.

Ross and sons designed a tublar arrangement for feeding young
trout. It works automatically, and we have seen it used in feeding poultry.

The son William settled in Kent, England, where his son
Walter has splendid estates and shooting lodges and also in Scotland as well.
His exhibition of horses at one international horse show won nearly $7,000 prize
money. His stables were profusely decorated with flags and flowers.

Thomas was the father of the Ross Winans whose recent death
in Baltimore and the terms of whose will excited so much interest and comment.

Samuel Ross Winans, who died in 1910, was dean of Princeton
University from 1899 to 1903, and had been actively connected with the faculty
since 1878, at the time of his death being professor of Greek.

The father of Mrs. Chapman had a brother, Lewis, whose
grandchildren are residents of Rochester. In one family three sons enlisted in
the civil war. Edwin died of pneumonia on the march from Chattanooga. Lewis was
taken prisoner in battle, August, 1864, and incarcerated in Libby, Belle Isle,
Pemberton and Salisbury prisons till the spring of 1865, when he arrived at his
home so emaciated that he fell exhausted upon its threshold. Ira was promoted to
the rank of major. He is engaged on a work of the genealogy of the Winans
family, which book may we all live to read. William Wallace, a son of Ira, is a
homeopathic physician of Rochester, and a year or more since we noticed in the
Albany newspaper that he was president of Monroe Count Homeopathic Medical
society.

At the learned professions are well represented in the Winans
family, the clergy has its full ratio. Among those of this state is J. P. Winans,
of the Christian Church, son of Seymour, of Freehold. By the way, Seymour had 18
children. But, by the rule of "loss and gain," he had had four wives.
Last year the New York Methodist Episcopal conference lost by death William S.
Winans, long a resident of Catskill. He leaves a son in the New York east
conference who is its leading temperance advocate. Two ministers of the name are
members of Troy conference, W. J., of Schenectady, son of Rev. Rodney, of Newark
conference, is acting superintendent of Pacific coast district, American Sunday
School Union. His son, Edward J., who won distinction as a Rhodes scholar and
matriculated at Oxford, was last year sent by the New York conference to China,
as professor of Latin at Pekin university.

But, to return to our own line of genealogy. John Winans,
father of Mrs. Chapman, had four brothers and one or two sisters, we believe.
Some years ago a comedy entitled "Solon Shingle" was having a great
run in New York, in which Solon was ever boasting that his father had "Fit
into the Revelewtion, a-driviní a baggage waggin" John Winans and all of
his brothers fought in the Revolutionary War, not by driviní a baggage waggin,
but as earnest patriots, valiantly contending for liberty. John Winans married
Catherine Waters, became a minister of the Old Style Baptist denomination, and
upon a farm near Preston Hollow reared a family of seven sons and four
daughters, who were quite remarkable for their gift of song. The sons were:
Holla, Aaron, Isaac, William, John, Peter and Stephen Van Rensselaer. The
daughters were: Nancy, Lydia, Zilhpa and Huldah. Aaron and William found homes
in the west. The others in the state of New York. But Aaron has descendents in
Oneonta. A son of John, named Edwin, became governor of Michigan. The mother N.
Bonaparte Chapman was Edwinís sister. Nancy Winans married Adam Mattice, who
settled at Livingstonville. They had several sons and daughters. Mr. Mattice had
extensive business interests and held the office of supervisor, sheriff and
member of assembly. Their son John Winans was a lawyer in Albany, and at the
time of his death owned considerable real estate at Slingerland, where some of
his family still reside. Manly Burr Mattice, attorney at law, late of Catskill,
was county judge of Greene county some years, and congressman one term.

The husband of Lydia Winans was Elisha Humphrey, of
Livingstonville. They also had several sons and daughters. Philip was a merchant
in Middleburgh at one time, then went west. Another son, Wesley, also of the
west, was an eminent physician, and the son of Philip is a distinguished
prescriber of medicine.

Zilpha Winans became the wife of Philip Couchman, of Preston
Hollow. He was afterward known as "The Squire," as he had the office
of justice of the peace a long time. A few years after their marriage they lived
in Canada, near Fort Erie, and in the year of 1812 he was compelled to go to the
defense of the fort, and with the rest of the garrison was taken prisoner by the
Americans. Later the commander learned that Couchman was only in the enemyís
service under strong protest, and he was allowed to pass through the lines,
first secretly informing his wife of the intention and making arrangements for
meeting on the opposite shore So she sold or otherwise disposed of her effects,
took her three small children, one an infant a few months, and bravely paddling
her own canoe across the Niagara river, enjoined her husband. Imagine, if you
can, the joy of the reunion. They then settled upon a farm near Livingstonville,
where they brought up a family of seven sons and three daughters. The sons,
large in more than one sense, together weighted over 1400 pounds. Six of them
were royal arch masons. Their father had also taken the same degree in the
fraternity. Three sons were ordained ministers.

John Winans Couchman, who died at Cooksburg, although giving
much time and labor to the Methodist Episcopal Church, preaching, baptizing and
marrying, yet preferred to remain upon his farm, and being what we term an
"all-around man," settled up estates, etc. He was assessor in the town
of Broome and Rensselaerville 6 years, and was member of assembly one term.

Rev. Philip C. of the Christian church, preached with much
acceptance many years, then retired to Schoharie.

Rev. Milo C. was an itinerant of the New York conference over
forty years. The three brothers were very successful revivalists. In one of Miloís
meetings a young man was laughing and whispering, and as reproof had no effect,
the minister walked to the pew and inquired the meaning of the young manís
misbehavior. He replied, "Why from what I heard, I expected to see miracles
performed here." "O, no" was the response, "we donít
perform miracles, but we do cast out devils," and taking firm hold of the
coat collar he led the fellow to the door and threw him outside.

Peter Couchman was supervisor of the town of Conesville nine
years, assemblyman from Schoharie county two terms, and in South Dakota was a
member of the constitutional convention that framed the fundamental laws of the
state; he was also delegate to the national convention that nominated Cleveland
for president. He held the office of sheriff five years and later was Indian
commissioner at Cheyenne.

The memory of Hulda (Winans) Chapman, mother and grandmother
of a large cultured circle, is preserved with unceasing love and reverence by
the families Chapman and Mann, and the whole community of Boucks Falls, where
she passed so many useful years, ________ with the perfume of kindness, will
gladly acknowledge and long remember her excellence.